As a Hull supporter, I travelled down from the Gold Coast for both weekends. Both weekends were fantastic. The Hull fans were absolutely immense - the players looked shocked at the number of fans there and the noise they made. They really were wonderful occasions, although a lot of the crowd went home/lost interest after the Hull game at the double header.
i don’t think you’ll find many people who were there complaining about the concept - nothing but positives as far as I could see

What a top guy - putting the chance to play for his country first. So sad
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/kato-ottio-rejected-dragons-deal-so-he-could-join-png-in-rlwc/news-story/a4dea0d63b5fe0baee0f8e87134fd9a2

Definitely feeling it. Having been at fantastic games the last two weekends (Auckland and Brisbane) and having such a great time, I’m really sad it’s over.
Work Xmas party tomorrow though so that should help drown my sorrows.
and at least it’s summer in Aus and the weather is fab (30C at 8am on the Gold Coast today!!) which makes everything better. I would not like to be having this come down in an English winter!!

My biggest gripe with this tournament is its lack of presence.
Couple of examples - no sports shops on the Gold Coast have any WC merchandise. There’s a little bit of Aussie stuff, but it’s not branded up under a WC banner. They always sell Aussie shirts and these happen to be the latest ones. Im pretty sure the last WC the shops had a WC section selling stuff from all the countries. I know the Gold Coast isn’t hosting a game but it’s still a RL market.
also, I was talking to a woman in Auckland who is a manager of a bar in Wellington. She said they normally receive marketing and branding material (coasters, posters, special deals and competitions etc) for big events. They received absolutely nothing for this tournament. And that’s Wellington which was a host city. I expect that has been the story at all pubs and bars.
Also, I went to games in Melbourne and Auckland - the tournament had zero presence in either city. You wouldn’t even know there was a game on.
This lack of presence means the tournament just hasn’t worked it’s way into the public’s psyche.
On the point of Aussies not going because they don’t see it as competitive, I don’t get that at all. The standard on the pitch is, certainly for me, a very minor part of the reason why I attend these kind of games. It’s about being part of the event, the experience, the visiting fans, the colour, the carnival atmosphere.
But perhaps, given my first point, this tournament hasn’t really felt like a big party so people haven’t felt a great pull to being a part of it

I’m a bit ###### off as I bought my ticket in the cheapest category a few weeks ago and the best they could give me was near the back in the very top tier near the corner behind the sticks. Now there are the same category available in the next tier down and more central. It’s probably happened to a lot of people, which is quite annoying

Nope! Couldn’t hear them at all! It was almost like we were leaving it to the Tongan fans to enjoy their day. And why not. I’ve never felt so outnumbered, it was quite funny really. Whenever you saw another England fan we acknowledged each other with a rye smile and a bit of relief that we weren’t on our own 😆😆

I didn’t want to post this in a thread where it would get bogged down in all the ...
I’m struggling for words right now to describe today.
i have never experienced anything like that atmosphere. I can’t even put into words what an absolute privilege it was to be there.
I was so happy for them when they scored what I thought was a consolation try 😳.
And then that last five minutes!! 😱😱😱😱😳
but even afterwards, bloody hell do the Tongans celebrate! I’ll never forget leaving the stadium with that beautiful sound of the Tongans singing.
it was a special, special day. And bloody hell, I love this game!!

So excited to be in Auckland for this! I’m staying on one of the main streets in the city and already had a few Tongan fans driving past beeping their horns and waving flags. Going to head down to the harbour soon and soak up the atmosphere. It’s going to be a good day!!

Been keeping an eye on the England semi all week. All that is now available is four and a half blocks in Category A and a handful of restricted view tix. Cat B and Cat C are sold out. So you’d have to think now the game will be a sellout.
Very excited to be flying down to Auckland tomorrow for this 😃😃

I think one of the problems in Aus is that there aren’t many neutrals to win over. Nearly everyone knows rugby league and has an opinion on it - they love it, they hate it, or it doesn’t interest them. It’s not like the UK where a lot of people don’t know anything about it. Therefore you’re either preaching to the converted or are trying to win over people who don’t like it/aren’t interested, which has completely different challenges